Friday, November 13, 2015

I heard the news as I drove down Santa Monica Freeway toward Los Angeles Airport. I'm grateful I haven't seen any images yet, as I wait to board my flight back up to San Francisco. Like many others, all I could think of was the sorrow that is ahead for families, France, and the nations around the world - except those few who exalt in such acts of cowardice and hatred. Honestly, I just want the murderers gone. I want them and their wickedness wiped off the face of the earth. And, at the same time - maybe a second or two later, I knew that was not the answer. So, I pray and remember that broken hearts can still love. That those who have been lost and injured are loved - by those left behind and by those who will embrace them on the other side. There is not enough comfort in that, but I believe it's true in an exceptional way, especially for those who were senselessly murdered today.

Friday, September 18, 2015

While a mitzvah usually refers to a kind or charitable act, it actually means “commandment.” The mitzvot (pl.) are commandments given by God to the Hebrews for them to obey in everyday life. It says a great deal about those commandments that today’s colloquial understanding of the word refers to being kind and helpful to others in often unexpected ways.

This excerpt of the Sh’ma comes from the First (Old) Testament, Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It is the opening of a central prayer of Judaism and often the first prayer a Jewish child will learn. Most likely, it is one of the first prayers learned by Jesus. And, it foreshadows the answer to the question that Jesus was asked later about which of the commandments were most important. His reply, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”’ Matt 22:37-39

This is a mitzvah that is as simple as it is devastating when ignored or diluted. Ignorance and devastation that are two sides of the same coin that is minted without love. It is the coin that Jesus likely referred to when he asked them whose likeness appeared on the money that was used to pay for the poll-tax. When those testing him answered, “Caesar’s,” Jesus replied: “Then render to Caesar the things at are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s” Matt 22:19-21.

Ignorance and destruction to Caesar; Love to God. Classic Jesus!

Shama Yis’ra’eil…

It is why we come back time and again in the face of those who cause us harm because of their ignorance and fear. It is why we “turn the other cheek” away from the sting of being vilified or rejected and respond with love. It is why we cannot judge others, because to do so would break down the prayer, the love, the mitzvot, and any hope to the end of aggression, violence and marginalization for the many of us who have to fight for the very air we breathe.

It is why any interpretation of the Bible that forgets this love is wrong. It is why any practice based on the Bible that sees "unwelcoming of the other" as faithfulness is advancing ignorance and devastation and is a twisted, dangerous and violent disease. A disease that plagues our full welcoming of one another; a deep soul-sickness that can only be overcome by love.

Without the unconditional practice of the simple mitzvah to love, we accept less than God has made us to be; we relinquish and relegate our hope to a the myth that “time will tell…” It is not time that tells but our hearts and the actions they produce.

Simple. So, why are we so quiet? What is it that bows to the ignorance and says, "It is ok not to agree with the full inclusion of all our sisters an brothers,” when in practice that translates to: “It is ok for you to embrace a brand of love that harms others.”

Mitzvot and love are easier to talk about than to open their imbedded powers in service. While secular communities embrace and practice such teachings in some instances, the responsibility for this ministry lies primarily is in our communities of faith. And, if you listen for the denominational or institutional religious voice that speaks the loudest in letting all our sisters and brothers know they are fully welcome in a church, temple or mosque - there is not much to hear. And, ironically, the voice that is most heard is from the religion that still holds to dogma which refuses to ordain women or folks who are LGBTQ, still refusing Communion to divorced couples, and more. Still, there is such thirst for healing that even the smallest of rhetorical changes are greeted with exuberant attention. This is not surprising considering how much we need to heal and welcome each other just as we have always been, sisters and brothers in this mystery of creation rooted in love.

So, I do. I hold leadership and each one of us in faith communities accountable for what has happened as well as how we will change things from today forward. I do. I believe that until faith communities like the PC(USA) and others speak loudly with love with exuberance about the welcoming that is growing in our denominations; until we speak with love that is not diminished or understated for fear of rejection - until then folks are right to confuse to whom we render what - and whether or not we really have changed, at all.

During the early years of the AIDS crisis, there were actually two diseases plaguing us, each one deadly and both compounding the ignorance that caused our devastating loss of sisters and brothers: AIDS and AfrAIDS (the fear of getting AIDS). We were all afraid in those years, understandably so. And we looked for the voice then, woefully absent in ways that could have made a great difference. Think of the Office of the President of the United States of America from 1980 - 1988 and a president who never once said the word "AIDS" from his bully pulpit and what his voice might have done. “Silence = Death” was an accusation, a cry, and a lament. Think of a candidate for President of the United States who nods in agreement when someone says, "We have a problem and the problem is Muslims." Think of candidates who see the Supreme Court as "rogue" because of their decision on marriage equality.
It is all part of the same brewing ignorance and devastation...

This absence of our voice of Love, now as before, brings back the horror of the onslaught of AIDS and the growing acceptance of extreme positions as equally valid. Let's ask ourselves and the institutions, faith and other communities of which we are apart the question: "What is it about God’s love for us and one another that holds us so captive to silence? What are we afraid of? What holds us back?"Nothing as important as what we are called to do, I say...

Thursday, September 10, 2015

She's wrong in her belief that the Bible denies same gender loving couples the same loving relationships that others enjoy.

She is wrong that loving a person of the same gender in all the fullness of intimacy is a sin.

She has a right to be wrong, but it is important to state, for me, anyway, that choosing for or against marriage for all is not an equally weighted choice. It is not.

To deny others anything because of the inappropriate use of the sacred texts based on a reading that implies God's creation is flawed - is wrong; to engage in practices that extend violence towards others through any form of exclusion and imply such practices are just -- is wrong; and to use your office to hold others hostage to your beliefs by refusing to perform your public duties is not heroic - it's wrong.

And, rallying around folks who would choose second class citizenship for non-gender conforming citizens is dangerous and makes you complicit in the continued violence such actions will produce as long as they are allowed.

What Kim Davis did is not being faithful, as I see it, it is using one's faith in an abusive way to hurt others. That is the aberration, the "sin" if you wish.

And those who use you to further their goals and selfish concerns at the expense of others are guilty of greater wrongs, willing to incite violence and hatred for personal gain. Run from them as fast as you can...

Friday, August 21, 2015

First Question: You talk about Ronald Reagan being an inspiration and model for you. Yet, in the eight years of his presidency from 1980 - 1988, when the AIDS crisis began and gained momentum that has taken countless lives - during those eight years he NEVER ONCE said the word AIDS from the bully pulpit of the presidency. What would you have done differently as a leader to have helped stem the tide of a pandemic, responsibility for which, in part, is rooted in his presidency.

Second Question: You said that you abhor violence and that the acts of two brothers who beat a homeless man in Boston, shouting epithets and using your rhetoric towards immigrants as a reason for their actions. As a skilled communicator who wants to lead this country, how can you use language that incites folks to violence, while claiming you seek no one harm by your words. To say you did not mean for this to happen by what you said is an abdication of the responsibility every leader faces - that even you have no control over the meaning of your message when it crosses into rhetoric that is inherently divisive and ultimately violent. How can you communicate as POTUS in a way that brings the nation together while moving forward when your best effort at getting a point across is to prone to inciting such acts as those in Boston. Are you a good enough communicator and have a heart big enough to understand the responsibility of your words - for all?

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

I have been considering attending the Big Tent event, and I was wondering if there are any scheduled forums or discussions that directly talk about our LGBTQ community, especially following the ratification of 14F, which now makes us one of the most truly welcoming communities of faith in this nation and the world.

The literature says, "Big Tent is focusing on three areas of missional living: Advocacy, Poverty and Discipleship." In the printed schedule, this includes forums on renewal, poverty and hunger, sex trafficking, charismatics, evangelism, racism, emotional intelligence, young adults, youth education, calling pastors, Middle East Christians, training ruling elders, racial reconciliation, climate change, Christ-Centered Masculinity, Women and Women Leaders, Inclusion of People with Disabilities [Exceptionalities] and many more important areas of discussion...

Yet, I have not been able to find anything that refers to our LGBTQ members and community and recent changes in the church, which easily include topics of advocacy, poverty, and discipleship - integrating our community into the full work and worship of this denomination and our lives together.

For example, in the scheduled discussion area of calling a pastor, an important question might be: How do PNC's consider the gifts of candidates and ministers who are LGBTQ and seeking a call? Or, in the area of evangelism: How do we carry the Gospel message to all people in ways that lift up our faith and the diversity of gender and gender identities?

These and more topics easily come to mind...and point to the many ways in which important discussions about inclusion of our LGBTQ membership can help raise the "big tent" in which we actually live, rather than keeping it smaller than it actually is.

I feel it is the charge of our denomination, especially in gatherings such as this, to lead us intentionally in ways that can faithfully help us to live into the decisions that we, as a denomination, have chosen as our way of mission in the world.

I have raised similar points around past "Big Tents" and was told that these topics were too controversial for this type of gathering, which was "more about family". That stung at the time - we are family, and I am hoping times are different, and that I have missed something in the schedule and literature.

So, thanks for your thoughts and all you are doing for our denomination and all its missional calls. I know that it is never the intention to exclude anyone; I know you all better than that. I just hope something can be done to eliminate any whisper of that perception in your continuing planning and publicity for this event, so that all are able to hear the message we have been given to carry into this world in the name of the Risen Christ in our midst.

Sunday, June 28, 2015

have often talked about the "new thing" God is doing in this world over the course of our struggle for the Gospel of Justice, Mercy and Love. And, here we are! - entering into a "new thing" many thought would never be seen in their lifetimes: a newagain time manifesting the presence of God in astounding and resilient ways!

The Presbyterian Church (USA) and its decisions on ordination, marriage equality, and the revised definition of the definition of marriage in our constitution to "between two people"...

The Supreme Court of the United States' ruling on marriage equality, the upholding of the Affordable Care Act and recent decisions in challenges to housing practices for folks who have low incomes...

All of these - "great victories" of profound impact; policy decisions that will change (have changed!) this society and the world in ways we have yet to imagine. Celebrate? Oh, yes! Celebrate, indeed! With time for pause that honors the celebration...knowing as we do...

the enormous sacrifices of arriving at this shore;the violence;and the many who are not with us because they did not live long enough to see it -or lost their lives getting us here.

Celebration calls for remembrance, always, so we pause and honor all those who have placed in our hands "the wonderful key" that has the promise to set us free.

Even with that "key in hand," we know that once the legislative work is done, the work of changing hearts and minds continues. The planting of love and the withering of violence toward each other continues with new and robust laws and polity on our side.

I suggested this to someone yesterday, and they responded that I shouldn't be so quick to "draw a rainbow" over the world, just yet!

But there is something different this time. It is palpable...

It's not that so many positive things are happening, but the confluence of it all - against the landscape of the faith, spirit and hearts of our sisters and brothers of Mother Emmanuel in Charleston...

President Obama was right in his eulogy when he said our eyes have been opened by the Grace present in our community, yes our community, of Charleston. How simple they made it for us who are too complicated to see: at the core of every dream and hope and promise we have is the willingness and practice to forgive and love one another no matter what. No matter what. No matter who. No matter why.

Have we been and can we be loving and courageous in the face of such tragedy? Clearly, the answer is, "Yes." Yes, or we wouldn't be this far. But we're in the new stratosphere of our dreams and aspirations with these changes that we have worked to attain - and the assailants who might hope to deflate us are even more determined to do so; too often in revolting and despicable ways.

But opponents' actions, no matter how heinous and wrong cannot change our greatest saving grace, our amazing grace, if you will - that we are loved by God and called to love one another no matter what. Whatever others may do, they must be...

Held accountable and loved;Challenged and loved;Taught how wrong the are and loved;Stopped from doing harm and loved -

And forgiven, no matter what. I know...

I don't know if I can do this, honestly, certainly not by myself. But when we do it together, when Mother Emmanuel does it, when victims of crime time and again forgive their oppressors, when the saints of our progressive movement have done it time and again... when congregations, families, communities and more embrace and accept nothing less than love, it seems I can, as well.

"Love God with all you have -and love one another as you love yourself."

It really is different this time - not the message but the possibility that we have heard it in ways that will clear the path for the "new thing" God is doing. A "new thing" that will take hold with doves and a rainbow such as we've never seen before!

Monday, June 15, 2015

Editor's Note: In the days ahead, an historic decision on marriage from Supreme Court of the United States will be announced, that began with with courage and commitment of folks like these. I asked Jim if he would write up an intro to his own involvement with the Supreme Court as an advisor to Jim Dale and his challenge before the Supreme Court following his expulsion as a Boy Scout leader, because he was gay. Here is a link to a documentary of the struggle, which includes the two James', produced almost 40 years ago! (Plays better on some browsers than others.) See Jim's Bio here at LGBTRAN

From Jim Anderson:

I was “out of the closet” at Rutgers when I arrived there as an assistant professor in 1977. Later when I became a full professor, I was the only out gay man that anyone knew about (of course there were others, but they didn’t flaunt it like I did), so I reaped many benefits. When we had homophobic strife on campus the president appointed me chair of his President’s Select Committee on Lesbian and Gay concerns. We produced a landmark report that was copied widely around the country.

When I became associate dean of our school, my main management principle was Jesus’ turn the other cheek and take the blame. I found this to be the most effective way to get past controversies and begin to deal with them. It never hurt me to take the blame! My dean knew what I was doing and supported me all the way. He left all the internal administration to me.

At the same time, I became the faculty advisor to LGBT students and the main LGBT organization. I met many promising young LGBT students in this role, and one was James Dale, whom I believe was president of our LGBT group for two years. It was during this time that he got kicked out of the Boy Scouts, after achieving Eagle Scout status and becoming an assistant Scout Master. There was no explanation, so I encouraged him to enquire.

As this drama, portrayed in the video, unfolded, I encouraged him to pursue it, but I did my best to tell him, do this only if you want to, NOT because I want you to. But he was hot to trot. So watch the video and enjoy.

Lots of the LGBT students came to me with relationship problems. I always told them to take their partners as they are or leave them, but don’t try to change them. They will change, but not the way you necessarily want them to. I would use my Rafael as an example. I have been trying to change him for 44 years, and he does change, but NOT according to my “plan.”

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The recent ratification of Amendment 14F by greater than a 2/3 majority of presbyteries reflects a powerful statement by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its members. Added to the the changes in ordination and marriage equality, this ratified revision of the description of marriage - erases the constitutional barriers to inclusion based on gender and sexual identity in the denomination.

It is almost a moment too great to contemplate. Forty years and lifetimes of prayer and sacrifice; decades of marginalization met with steadfast resistance; the resulting study of the bible and texts; the lifting up of God's glorious diversity in one another; and the refusal to let others define us: these reflect only part of the story of prophetic and courageous acts of justice and love by this denomination's members. We have truly made the way clear for the PC(USA) and others to follow in the evangelism that is now ours to share.

But we are not done.

Long before there existed any progressive movement or the advances that have been achieved, the treatment of our sisters and brothers who identified as queer -- was wrong, terribly wrong. And, recent legislation did not make us somehow, suddenly "right."

The changes we are witnessing have to be viewed as the acknowledgment that for years our and other communities of faith have been wrong, sinfully wrong in the way our sisters and brothers who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+ have been unwelcome. The charges of inhospitality carry a heavy price in the sacred texts, and our queer community has borne the brunt of exclusion and the residual violence - simply because others refused to see what the majority of folks have now come to know.

While one could make the argument that these changes and levels of acceptance and understanding take time, and they would be correct to do so -- I would counter that the levels of love and hospitality, supplanted by fear and judgment is where the original error exists, not in who God created us to be.

Our LGBTQ+ sisters and brothers have brought about more than a change in the constitution of the PC(USA), our sisters and brothers are bringing about a change in the way we love and accept one another. These forty years have been forty years of bringing the Good News to resounding levels that can now be heard by more people than ever before.

The question is: Is the church up to this new thing God is doing?

To be heard, institutions such as the PC(USA) cannot simply rely on legislative changes or practices to point to catharsis. Years of teachings and practices that have caused so much pain, suffering and contributed to the violence of so many -- have to be directly addressed at the highest of levels. It is such an acknowledgment of the wrongs and harms done as a result of the past positions of the denomination that first must be spoken -- before the new welcoming to those who have been shunned can be heard.

This ancient practice of amends and admission of wrongs done is now more critical than ever before. Any prospect for reconciliation that lay ahead will depend upon it, for this is the path that must be followed if we are to eliminate fear and judgment with love and hospitality.

It is a time to admit and acknowledge that the Love of God and one another has been renewed in ways by the Presbyterian Church (USA) that was long-lost and has now been found. A time to welcome, as never before!

Such an admission and invitation, spoken with courage and humility, will open our doors more widely than we could ever imagine. It will change the way the church andits teachings and practices have been misused to harm others for way too long.

Saturday, May 9, 2015

"And he said to them, 'Is a lamp bought that is placed under a basket, or under a bed? Should it not be placed on a lamp stand? For there is not anything which is hidden that will not be revealed, and not anything existing in secret that won't be revealed. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.' And then Jesus said to the disciples, 'Watch what you hear. With that measure that you measure. It will be measured to you and it is increased to you, those who hear.' For to those who have, it shall be given. And for those who have not, also it shall be taken from them.'" Mark 4:21-25 [Aramaic English New Testament - modified for inclusive language]

Coming out is not always easy. It can happen in many ways and at any time. Still in places today, the threat of being "outed" is used to keep our "lamps" hidden away, held back from the darkness that so needs the light. The closet and the darkness continue to do untold damage, "measuring life" by the limited space in which our spirit breathes freely, constraining the light - never a good thing to do. Living in a complex of secrets riddled with fear obscures not only what we perceive but also what we hear; constraining the kindom of God that is within and what it calls us to do...in all the many ways we are called.

Attempting to hold back God never ends well. Whereas the opposite frees us to embrace more of "the measure" that is given us to participate in our world, loved by God and loving others in that measure and steadily growing free of fear. Living into our light dispels the darkness of oppression, revealing all - whether the marginalization of gender differences, the bigotry that thrives on fear, or any other form of domination.

Some might say we have a choice about coming out. In small ways, that is true. In the larger sense of who we are created to be and the lamp we have to shine so that others may see and hear and shine their lamp in the company of others who know the way... we have only the responsibility to be the light God created us to be.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Leelah Alcorn’s suicide may not be the last for a long time to come. I
remember the day Matthew Shepard was murdered. "Surely now," I thought, "everyone would see the violence of the teachings of twisted religious dogma. Churches and communities of faith will have to change now," I prayed as much as I thought.

I was wrong about Matthew’s death ending the complicity of some religious communities in hate crimes and violence. We have made progress - and the reality is that even as we move forward - we have yet to overwhelm the insipient teachings that hasten the advance of such tragedies.

Unless we drown out misdirected
dogma with the power and practice of love by us who know better - we are complicit in our silence. Love drowns out fear. It’s that simple. It's has always been that simple. And it has
always been excruciatingly hard to do. Love is the message that fills the New Testament - yet we embrace it just so far. We criticize others for their literal interpretations of sacred texts, yet we fall short ourselves of prophetic witness. We both end up in the comfortable middle, while folks like Leelah and Matthew and others pay the dearest of prices.

This week's reading of the Gospel brings us to the River
Jordan and the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. (Mark 1:4 -11)

"I have baptized you with water;" says John, "but he [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mark 1:8}

It occurs to me that it’s a lot easier to take the water. It
occurs to me that many people prefer to hang out with the old ways, with the
“John teachings” – all of which we acknowledge but profess to have taken to the fullest of levels with
the advent of Jesus. Still, we are halting in our embrace of discipleship; too often we wait until enough of others have made the way clear and safer to follow.

That’s how it seems to me. When we sidestep the discipleship we say we herald, we become complicit in the absence of change and the violence that seeks out such vacuums with a vengeance.

Some of us have intimately known this dressed-up violence as the exclusionary teachings we've experienced in our denominations, communities and families. It is why welcoming communities of faith need to carry the message of hospitality and radical love without ceasing:

"God and we welcome you in all the ways God has created us all."

"God and we welcome you in all the ways God has created us all."

What makes us so timid?

What if Leelah Alcorn or her family had heard that? What if Matthew Shepard's murderers had been taught that?

Here’s what I know. Nothing about the teachings of
Jesus would ever be part of - in any way - teachings or practices that
produce violence toward others. If you want to argue that, perhaps it is
better to move on at this point.

The portrayal of God in the Old Testament is the God The Baptist still knew best, but he knew Change was coming. And Change was Jesus. Jesus that summoned up Abba, the parent and guardian God who loves all. Jesus that affirmed the Greatest of Commandments. The same commandments to love God and one another that we seem to set aside most quickly, when fears takes hold and comfort or safety becomes threatened.

Are we disciples of John or Jesus? Are we disciples of the old or the new?

The problem we face has its roots in the careful institutional conflation of God and church for too many centuries. Such conflation creates and empowers the most fundamental of all wishful thinking: "that if the church says it is so –
then God says it is so, for God and church are one."

Really?

Who might that benefit more than others?

How close might that come to idolatry at some point?

So, which is it? When we are confronted with decisions based on love or judgment is it church dogma and teachings or God's love that is the final arbiter? Can it ever be both and still send someone out into the wilderness alone and marginalized?

I know my bias. I was brought up a Roman Catholic; I grew up loving the church and God. I was taught they were one and believing that nearly took my life. Finally in my thirties, I came to know the difference. I walked away from a church I knew was wrong. In the process I came to find the God that made and loves me...gay and all.

Slowly, I was able to
see the role of the church as helping communities to live into the teachings of Jesus, struggling as disciples, together – regardless of how uncomfortable, unpopular, or messy the struggles might be. I came to know the joy and courage of others who had gone before, knew that God loved us all and that the church needed to change, even in the face of personal or professional risk. These were Presbyterians who led me back to church, and there are countless others waiting for what I was so blessed to receive.

Friends, we cannot forget how violence and fear are out to turn us inward and away from change at every opportunity. Nor can we forget that we have made strides with much, much more to do. The tragedies we speak of remind us of this and more. We cannot become tired or despairing.

Or timid....

Yes, the path is formidable: the road of discipleship is in direct opposition
to fear. Recognize any obstacles to discipleship as fear-based at one level or another. Recognize any conflation of God and church as an inherently violent response to God and one another. And know the joy of loving like there is no tomorrow!

This love and discipleship requires being part of the change we want to happen. It requires personal and national leadership that embraces and announces the changes that have taken place at the highest of levels, in our denomination and others. There is great joy in the Good News and the witness we have to offer each other and the world, as we move profoundly forward. We have been baptized to make a difference - not wait for one to happen.

In response to the political silence surrounding the AIDS crisis in 1987, Act Up (A Coalition to Unleash Power) was formed. It's slogan was: "Silence = Death." It is a slogan well to remember in choosing our paths of discipleship.